Na Yan opened her eyes again, and the warm sunlight shone on her. What came into her view was actually a high-end mahogany furniture.
What?!
"Granny, how could I have given birth to a daughter?" Na Yan listened intently. The woman seemed to be around 24 years old, and her tone was full of frustration. Where was this place?
Na Yan's heart was pounding wildly, and the words she wanted to utter turned into the cries of a baby.
"Granny, you need someone to comfort you. All you do is cry." Na Yan was picked up by a woman with a topknot and a swallowtail hairstyle. Her face didn't show much expression, but the loving look in her eyes was something Na Yan couldn't ignore. She was dressed in a dark green cheongsam, which was clearly the Qing Dynasty attire that Na Yan had once described in her writings.
In modern times, Na Yan is a moderately well-known novelist. Due to poor contact with the outside world, she quit her job and devoted herself to writing novels full-time. As her word count increased, her royalties gradually rose as well.
“Madam, look how lovely the little princess is! She’s so young, yet you can already tell she’s going to be a beauty. You have both a son and a daughter. Now that you have your eldest and second sons, wouldn’t it be wonderful to have a little daughter as well?” The nanny was helpless. Ever since Madam gave birth to the princess, she hadn’t even glanced at the little princess unless the adults came over. These past few days, the little princess had been feeling unwell, and yesterday she was burning up with fever.
Before going to court in the early morning, Fei Yanggu took a special look at his beloved daughter. Her face was slightly pale, and her breathing was intermittent. He was afraid that he would receive bad news from home while he was on duty that day.
Who would have thought that when he returned early, he would hear such words from his wife, which made him very angry. Wasn't their daughter their child too?
At this moment, Na Yan had the opportunity to survey the room. A folding mahogany screen stood at the entrance. To her right was a mahogany bed carved from Nan Gong wood, upon which rested a noblewoman of about 25 years old. Her black hair was tied back with a single silver hairpin, and she wore a pale purple undergarment. A black headband adorned with various gemstones adorned her forehead. The woman looked at Na Yan with eyes full of disdain and indignation.
Na Yan shrank back, feeling a little scared by the noblewoman's sharp eyes.
"This servant greets you, sir!" The maid outside the door saw Fei Yanggu gesture to her, and only then did she dare to speak and greet him. The master and servant inside the room had no idea that Fei Yanggu had heard their conversation.
A hearty laugh reached her ears, and she saw a young man with a beard, his head bald except for a long braid at the back of his head. She had once researched for her novel and learned that during the Kangxi and Yongzheng reigns, Manchus still wore the "money-tail" hairstyle prescribed by Emperor Taizong.
"My little Qingyan!" His dark face was full of smiles, and his cold eyes were filled with warmth when he looked at her.
Compared to the look in the eyes of the Fujin, Qingyan seemed to cherish the cheapness of her father even more.
"You can leave now!" Fei Yanggu waved the nanny away. Before, when the Fujin gave birth to two sons, she treated them like precious treasures.
Sure enough, they favor sons over daughters.
Fei Yanggu chuckled and kissed Qingyan's little face. Her body swayed from side to side as his beard tickled her. The swaddling clothes were too tight, leaving her little room to dodge. Finally, Qingyan could only look at him with pitiful eyes.
"My dear, your father will wait for you to grow up!" Over the years, Fei Yanggu has often gone on military campaigns, leaving the entire mansion in the care of the Jue Luo clan. After his daughter was born, his close friends who had gone through thick and thin with him gave him some advice. In particular, Prince Yu, Fuquan, explicitly told Fei Yanggu to stay in the mansion as much as possible, as the Jue Luo clan's preference for sons over daughters was too severe.
Fei Yanggu was oblivious to things; without the prompting of Neng Fuquan and others, he certainly wouldn't have noticed. Furthermore, Jue Luo's recent actions made him fearful that Qingyan might not survive if he weren't at the mansion.
It seems he shouldn't go out for the next three years.
Qingyan was still wrapped in swaddling clothes. His happy smile infected her, and the little girl showed a toothless smile in Fei Yanggu's arms.
"Good boy, that's great! When you grow up, your father will take you hunting!" The noble ladies of the Manchu Eight Banners should be cheerful and straightforward, and it is rare for a woman of the Gioro clan to have such two-faced methods.
"Master, you've just returned, please put Qingyan down for now." Seeing Fei Yanggu return, Jue Luo Shi didn't want to go too far, so she could only force a smile.
Qingyan rolled her eyes twice; she genuinely disliked her biological mother.
"Hehe!" Fei Yanggu chuckled upon noticing her little act, completely ignoring Jue Luo's explanation.
This heartwarming scene of father and daughter together continued until Qingyan's full moon celebration.
Manchus value the baby's third-day celebration and full-month celebration. On those days, the baby was thoroughly cleaned, wrapped in a bright red swaddling cloth, and carried by the wet nurse to the front hall with Lady Jue Luo.
In front of outsiders, Jue Luo Shi still put on a very good act. When they were almost at the door, she took Qing Yan from the wet nurse's arms and held him in her arms. Qing Yan shivered a couple of times in the small swaddling clothes.
Jue Luo wore a faint smile, but her eyes flashed with a cold light as she looked down at her.
Her hands appeared to be embracing Qingyan, but in reality, she was just gently holding her. Fei Yanggu proudly showed off his little daughter to his friends who had come to congratulate him. Qingyan was his only daughter, and he cherished her dearly.
At this moment, beside his two legitimate sons, Eshuo and Saito, was Feiyanggu, and his beloved illegitimate son, Ezhe. Young Ezhe was spoiled by his mother, the concubine Tang. Feiyanggu was a rough man and rarely spoke to his sons about the ways of the inner court.
The little guy was just six years old. When he saw his younger sister coming over, he remembered what his two legitimate sons had said about his sister being as beautiful as a pearl. He was very jealous. Originally, he also had a younger sister who had contracted smallpox when she was three years old. He wanted to go see Qingyan as soon as possible, so he walked towards the Jueluo family. Before he even got close to the Jueluo family, the little swaddled baby was thrown out of the Jueluo family's hands.
Immediately, everyone in the hall was stunned. Without saying a word, Fei Yanggu rushed towards Qingyan and, just before landing, knelt down and firmly caught the swaddled baby in his hands.
Qingyan was terrified by the throw. She burst into tears, realizing that she had been thrown out, not accidentally thrown because someone bumped into her.
"Ezhe, what are you doing?" Fei Yanggu scolded directly. He believed that even if the Jue Luo clan did not like Qingyan, they would not let their little daughter die at the important full moon banquet.
Young Ejei was terrified. He clearly hadn't encountered his stepmother, so how did his sister get out?
"Father, I...didn't meet my stepmother." Eje was about to cry. He went to the study and understood how important reputation was for the offspring of officials. Moreover, he was born to a concubine, and on the surface, he was in competition with the legitimate son. His stepsister was different; it was his skill to compete with Eshuo and Saito.
Now, Ejei's attack on Qingyan is due to instigation from others.
The women present couldn't help but show their disdain; the children of concubines had no manners.
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